


My Vanguard

by Sebaren



Category: Cardfight!! Vanguard
Genre: Child Death, F/M, Gen, Kai is not suited to the art of war, Kai just trying to get some recognition here, Kourin is the stabiliser to Aichi's bicycle, No matter how angsty he gets Aichi will always be a perfect cinnamon roll, On Cray, PSY Qualia, War, Whiny Kai (just a tad), reverse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-14
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2020-01-13 07:29:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18464305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sebaren/pseuds/Sebaren
Summary: It's been a year since Sendō Aichi seemingly vanished from the face of planet Earth without a word to his friends, and Kai Toshiki hasn't taken it well. A year of searching later, and courtesy of Takuto, he finally gets news of where Aichi, along with all of the other wielders of PSY Qualia and Team Ultra-Rare, have gone--the planet Cray, where an all-out war is being carried out between the units of Cray, and the units of Link Joker. Not only that, but Takuto is determined that Kai is needed there, too.To make matters worse for Kai, Aichi is clearly hiding something, and whatever it is has changed him for the worse. With the forces of Cray fractured and many more Reversed, Kai finds himself trying his hardest to help Aichi win the war while keeping the boy's sanity intact...if only it were that easy.With tensions running high, Kai finds that Aichi isn't the only one of his friends who needs to heal.





	1. Alone

**Author's Note:**

> This is also being uploaded on fanfiction.net under the (very old) username EagleTsubasa, just in case you'd prefer to read it there, and there are more chapters there which will soon be uploaded here.
> 
> Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. It really helps me to grow as an author, so it's very helpful to see.

How long had it been since that day? The day when… he left. He simply got up and left me and I wasn't sure that I could ever forgive him for it… and yet I still searched for him. I'm still not sure why…

Why? Why did I search? Aichi abandoned me! He said we were friends! That he was going to help me! To support me! Why did he lie?! Why did he leave me?! I vowed to get back on the right path and he vowed to help me!

Yet… it didn't happen… He left over a year ago with absolutely no explanation… Where did he go? I made a vow to find that out… To find out why he abandoned his friends so easily… Why he abandoned me…

I still held one hope within my very soul. That Aichi had left for some good reason. That he had no other choice. Yet, some fear within me keeps rising every time I think about it. What if he was just sick of us? What if I was being too dependent on him and he got sick of it? What if we were never friends at all?

… What if he hated me…?

Ugh…! What happened to me and when did I get so desperate and whiny?!

My name is Kai Toshiki. My goal: to search for my friend. It doesn't matter how long it takes me. I need to find him. I need to ask him why he took his deck and left so long ago. Why he didn't ask for help if he needed it. Why he didn't even tell me that he was leaving.

I took a look at my surroundings and pulled my coat and scarf closer around me. Why was I even up in these mountains? Would Aichi really be up here? I doubted it. Yet… I would search the Earth three times over if that's what it took to find him. I'd go to the edges of the universe, because that was what my precious friend meant to me.

It didn't matter. Once I got down from here, I would spend the night in the little town at the base of the mountain. It was a nice little place. I'd been there once before when I was up this mountain. I think this was the area where I fought that kid with the white hair that used to be on one of Ren's teams. The Foo Fighters. What was his name again…? Oh, well… His name doesn't matter…

It took me a few hours of walking through a blizzard to get to the inn in the town. I sighed and brushed some snow off me before walking inside, gladly seeking the warmth that was being promised to me. I checked in, went to my room, dropped my bag and flopped down on my warm, soft bed, falling asleep the very moment that my head touched the pillow.

I had that dream again.

It was dark. Pitch black. I sat up slightly, propping myself up on my elbow, and looked around myself. Sitting up further, I became horribly aware of another presence right behind me. Without standing, I turned to face them.

He stood there, towering over me, wearing a long, white coat, black trousers and black trainers, all stained with red. He face and hair were streaked with crimson and even more of the liquid dripped slowly from the long sword that he held tightly in one hand. The ground rippled with every drop and the drip echoed in the space around us.

I found myself asking the same question that I did every time I had this dream, mainly because I just couldn't comprehend the answer that I was always given. As the man stared at me with those cold, emotionless eyes, my voice shook as I asked the question.

"… Who are you…?"

"You know well enough, Kai-kun," was the blunt answer. I flinched at the coldness in his voice. It couldn't be him, but yet it could. The thought that it could was why I continued to ask.

"Why do you keep coming here like this?! Where are you?!" I pressed frantically.

"You know well enough, Kai-kun."

"Stop repeating yourself! I want to find you and I don't know where you are! Tell me! Please!" I half begged him.

"I can't, Kai-kun. You have to find it out for yourself."

"You promised!" I blurted. He seemed to hesitate, as he always did, his eyes narrowing slightly – almost invisible unless you looked hard. It only served to make him look sterner. "You promised to help me! If you meant that, then why don't you help me?!"

"… There are things that one must do on their own, Kai-kun. Think of this as a test. How far have you come on your own and, if you find me, can you help?" he told me after getting over his slight hesitation.

"Help?" I asked. "Why do you need help?"

"I don't need it. You'll see if you get here. Until then, Kai-kun…"

My eyes widened. He was fading quickly. I jumped to my feet and reached for him and quickly as I possibly could… Yet… I slipped right through him, falling to the wet floor and, for the first time, the water from the floor began to seep into my clothes. This had never happened before. Suddenly, the floor beneath me lost its solidity and I plunged into the icy depths below me…

… Only to wake with a start.

I was covered with a cold sweat and my head was banging. I attempted to sit up to reach for my phone in my bag so I could check the time, but a wave of dizziness struck me and I was forced to lie back down. I grunted in annoyance and made the move to lean over and search through my bag rather than sit up. It worked and I soon checked the time.

_5:00AM…_

… I was not amused…

I poked around more in my bag. I remembered that I'd taken a thermometer with me. I eventually pulled it out and shakily lay back down in bed, removing the electronic thermometer from its box, turning it on and placing it in my mouth. I heard it beep after a few seconds and removed it.

38.9°C…

I wasn't getting out of that bed anytime soon. Not even bothering to put the thermometer away, I fell into a deep, uncomfortable slumber, plagued by dreams of my past… The past that I was always trying to run from… To forget…

… To sleep, perchance to dream… Aye, there's the rub... For in that sleep, what dreams may come…?

_Meanwhile…_

I sat up, rubbing my head slightly as I tried to remember exactly what had just happened. It was that dream again. Why was Kai always there? I didn't have time for that! There was a war going on! I couldn't show any kind of weakness!

Sorry. My name is Sendō Aichi. I'm originally from a planet called Earth, but at that moment, I wasn't on Earth anymore. I hadn't been on Earth for a year, now. This place was a planet known as Cray.

Why was I on Cray, you ask? Well –

_BOOM!_

I paused at the loud noise before quickly jumping out of bed and beginning to pull my clothes on. The door to my room was flung open a few minutes later and a rather panicked Emerald Witch, LaLa ran in at full speed just as I was pulling on my white and blue trench coat.

"My Vanguard!" she cried out as the door hit the wall with a loud bang. "The enemy is attacking! Blaster Blade and Blaster Dark are already outside fighting!"

"Very well, LaLa. Take the weaker units and take refuge elsewhere," I told her calmly as I picked up my large sword.

"Yes, sir! Right away!" she saluted. "Good luck!" With that, she was gone.

I rested my sword on my right shoulder and walked out the door. Another explosion rocked the building and I broke into a run along the long red carpet, making my way through the network of well-lit, white-walled halls, and passing by the many wooden doors on my way to the large main foyer with the two large doors that led outside.

To be quite honest, the base was larger than was strictly necessary, so it took about 5 minutes or more to get to the door. I called to the several guards on either side _—_ all sorts of different units from different Clans _—_ and each one of them grabbed a length of rope that was attached to the large, round, iron door handles and heaved.

A crack opened up between the two heavy doors and light streamed in. As it opened further, I watched as Blaster Blade Seeker—a tall, humanoid unit with green eyes and white and blue armour that was adorned here and there with red gems and covered with glowing lines of energy—and Blaster Dark— a unit that was identical to Blaster Blade in appearance, the only differences being his black armour came and red cape—into view in front of me. They turned as they heard the creaking of the giant doors.

"You kept us waiting, Aichi-kun!" Blaster Dark yelled over the sound of another explosion.

"Don't treat our Vanguard with such disrespect, Dark!" Blade berated him.

"Ah, shut up, Blade! Stop trying to act like you own everything!"

"What made you think I thought like that?!"

"Guys! Guys! Don't argue!" I laughed nervously. "We have bigger things to worry about!"

I liked this. Back on Earth, we didn't know each other very well and, better yet, we never really spoke. When we finally  _did_ speak on just a few occasions, we ended up behaving rather formally. Once we had gotten to know each other better, it was like they were completely different people.

Blade sighed. "Our Vanguard is right," he agreed.

"Ooh! Sucking up to,  _'our Vanguard,'_  now, are we?"

"You don't need to be so formal, guys -" I was cut off as they continued to argue.

"Are you questioning the might of our beloved Vanguard?!"

"Beloved?!" I half squeaked. Didn't expect that one…

"Stop being such a pet!"

"Pet?! I'll have you know that I am a trained and accomplished warrior!"

"Yeah, right! Trained and accomplished?! Does anyone hear this guy?!"

I sighed in frustration as I heard footsteps coming towards me. Turning, I was greeted with a familiar face who kneeled down in front of me, his large sword in front of him, its tip buried into the ground and both hands on the hilt of the giant blade, his head bowed in respect. I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. Was something happening to the troops…?

"Nehalem. What's wrong?"

"My Vanguard. The enemy is attacking in large waves. We have no idea how they found us. The 6th, 7th and 12th companies have all been taken out. How many have been Reversed is currently unknown." His voice and expression were both serious.

I cursed inwardly and stared at the ground. "So many units…" I was silent for a few seconds before looking back at Nehalem. I could feel that Blade and Dark were listening intently, especially because their arguing had ceased. "Where are they?"

"Coming through the valley, sir."

This time, I cursed outwardly. The units surrounding me looked at me like I had gone mad. I suppose that the amount of times that I've ever cursed can be counted on one hand, but I couldn't hold it in this time. The army was too close…

"Ready more troops. We can't wait a moment longer. Where's Alfred?"

"The battlefield, sir."

"Was he the one who authorised the troops to move out?"

"Yes, sir."

"Blade. Dark. We haven't got another moment to waste," I stated, turning to them. It was serious, now. Both sensed the situation and saluted.

"Sir, yes sir!"

_Meanwhile…_

_(Kai's P.O.V.)_

A few hours later, I opened my eyes slowly. The sunlight blinded me and I squeezed my eyes closed, cursing myself for not shutting the curtains the night before. My head felt better, though, so I supposed that it was OK to sit up.

The wave of dizziness didn't hit me when I moved. Lifting my hand up to my forehead, I noticed that my fever had definitely gone down in the few hours that I'd been asleep, but it wasn't gone yet and would probably come back. I decided that now was the best time to appease my newfound appetite and got up to go to the small bar downstairs. They sold good pea soup the last time I was there.

Getting up and walking downstairs, I sat down at the counter in the small restaurant downstairs. A young man around my age noticed me and walked over with a smile on his face. I didn't bother to return it, nor did I even really register it until he was right in front of me and speaking to me. Even then, I still don't really remember what he looked like.

"Can I get you anything?" he asked me.

"Can I have some pea soup, please?" I asked, tiredly rubbing my eyes.

"Certainly, sir," he responded with his sickening grin—the only part of him that I can really remember anymore—before walking away.

The next 10 minutes or so that I sat there for quickly became a blur, my tired mind registering little more than the thoughts that I allowed it to as I took out my deck, my eyes falling on Dragonic Overlord as I did so. Dragonic Overlord... I used that card when I fought Aichi under Void's influence...

I remembered every moment of that fight, and every moment of it was one that I desperately wanted to forget. Why didn't I forget? Was it because I accepted Link Joker? I made so many mistakes that day... The biggest of all was deciding that I needed a power that wasn't my own to fight Aichi with...

I admit it... I was jealous and I was a hypocrite. Aichi was becoming too powerful for me... It wasn't just Aichi, though... It was Ren... My best friend was still more powerful that me even without the power of PSY Qualia. I felt as though I was alone. As if the power that I'd worked so hard to obtain wasn't enough anymore. What were Ren and Aichi doing that I wasn't? I still need Aichi to tell me that!

"Here's your soup, sir! Would you like anything else?"

The voice of the man behind the counter snapped me out of my thoughts and I looked up as he placed the soup and a spoon in front of me with a grin. The bowl and spoon clinked against the mahogany counter and the smell hit me, reminding me of my own hunger.

"Uh... No... No, thank you..." I responded dumbly as he nodded.

"Very well, sir." With that, he walked away and began to chat to a female colleague.

I shovelled a spoonful of the great-tasting soup into my mouth, sliding my deck into its case as I did so. I stopped for a few seconds to wonder what the others were doing back at home. I had graduated, as had Miwa. The rest were still going through their last year of school and Miwa had gone to university. Still, my graduation allowed me to roam the world to look for Aichi. I had lost a few months of education, only returning for my final exams, but I was now able to search freely. Miwa had stayed at home, having his own obligations to his family to think about first. I understood that.

I hadn't seen Ren in a while. Not since I had graduated. Since he had graduated, I just presumed that he'd moved to go to university. Come to think of it, Leon and Chris, who would both ring every so often, were unusually quiet as well. In fact, I hadn't heard from all three of them in a year and, whenever I had tried to call one of them to see what the problem was, their phone was turned off.

I narrowed my eyes as a thought finally hit me. They all had something in common. They all had PSY Qualia. Maybe they had all got up and left, too. If they did, something big was going on. It still brought be no closer to my goal, though. I still wonder how it took me so long to see it.

I heard my phone buzz and pulled it out of my trouser pocket. Miwa's name came up on the caller ID. I wasn't surprised. He called me every so often to see how I was doing. As much as I really hated to admit it, I liked hearing his voice every now and then. I pressed the 'receive call' button and lifted the phone up to my ear.

"Hey, Kai! How's the search going? Found anything yet?" Miwa's cheerful voice asked me.

"Not yet. I think that Ren, Leon and Chris might be in on this, but it still doesn't help me..." I responded sadly.

"Hm..." Miwa mused. "I suppose that they've been unusually silent for quite a while... So... Where are you?"

"I'm at the bottom of a mountain in an inn," I informed him, reluctant to give him any information lest he attempt to show up or give me his disastrous brand of what he called "help."

Miwa chuckled at my lack of responsiveness. "Same old Kai..."

"So, how is everyone?" I inquired.

"Well, Naoki is really improving. Shingo and Kamui are helping him. He's still failing, though..." he laughed as I shovelled another spoonful of soup into my mouth. "Misaki-san's still taking care of the shop with Shin-san and Kamui's plucked up some courage and he's waiting for Aichi's approval to go out with Emi. The moment he gets it, he's gonna try to ask her out!" Miwa laughed.

"I don't think he actually needs it," I stated, pushing my food around on my plate, watching as the thick soup slid past my spoon.

"I know. Aichi probably wouldn't care," Miwa admitted, his voice sounding sheepish from the other end of the phone.

"What about the shop?" I asked, trying to turn the subject away from Aichi.

"It's the same as always. Gouki and his crew often come around for a match or two. That Kyou guy keeps coming around every so often to challenge you, but he's always going away disappointed," Miwa chuckled.

"Huh…" I mumbled, something finally dawning on me. "That's what his name was…"

"… Um… What…?" Miwa asked after a few seconds of silence. He obviously hadn't heard me.

"Never mind. It isn't important," I told him.

There was a moment of silence. "… Uh-huh…" Miwa responded slowly, almost as if he didn't believe me. I heard a sigh coming from the other end of the phone. "I'm gonna have to go, Kai. I have classes soon."

I found myself nodding to thin air, continuing to push my soup around on my plate. "That's all right," I told him, my response perhaps rather too blunt.

"I'll talk to you later," Miwa stated, his voice cheerful. Perhaps rather  _too_  cheerful. "Bye!"

"Hn," I grunted abruptly, listening to a click sounding from my phone.

Pulling it away from my ear, I put it back in my pocket, the realisation sinking in. Aichi wasn't here. Miwa wasn't here. I was completely and utterly alone. Why was that bothering me so much? I'd never been bothered by it before.

Rapidly shaking my head to clear it of those unneeded thoughts, I took another spoonful of the soup, even though I barely registered its flavour. The thoughts wouldn't cease. I was more alone than ever…


	2. Stop

_(Kai's P.O.V.)_

I flopped down on the bed in my room, my stomach full and my eyelids heavy. I had overexerted myself in my weakened state. Reaching up, I let the back of my hand fall against my forehead, feeling the reducing temperature. At least something good was happening.

I sighed and rolled onto my side, turning my back to the uncovered window to block out the light, too tired to care about closing the curtains, my mind clouded by thoughts of the past that I struggled to supress. Thoughts of all that I had lost and the precious little that I had gained. I let out a sigh and allowed my eyes to slide shut, drifting off into a restless sleep.

_(Aichi's P.O.V.)_

The sound of hooves and wingbeats echoed through the air, frequently obscured by the sounds of war and explosions deeper in the valley as we made our way through it. I gripped the reins of the Lion Mane Stallion that I was riding, its fiery orange mane flying up from its blue, partially-armoured body as it breathed in heavy pants beneath me. We had already covered quite a distance and our mounts were beginning to feel the effects of the difficult trek into the valley below the cliff that our base stood on.

I patted the side of the unit's long, muscular neck. "Good job, Lion. You're doing well. Just a little farther and you can rest," I assured him.

Lion seemed to heave a sigh of relief, continuing to power forward, a sheen of sweat coating his damp coat and mane as he galloped along. Another explosion, much louder than the others, rocked the ground, causing Lion to stumble slightly, but he quickly righted himself and charged onwards.

I sank my teeth into my lower lip, ignoring the metallic taste that spread through my mouth as a result. That didn't sound good… Glancing downwards, I noticed the apprehension writing across Lion's face as his head and ears drooped, almost as if he was afraid to go forwards.

Suddenly, a loud, mechanical-sounding bark rang out over the din of battle and the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps heralded a new arrival as a blue, mechanical dog with large shoulder spikes lined with yellow and a line of red along part of its back began to run alongside me, its rider turning to face me, his red hair and black cloak flying out behind him as his crimson eyes locked with mine.

"That didn't sound good!" he called, struggling to be heard over the noise as he gripped Gururubau's shoulder spikes.

I nodded. "That was the biggest one so far, Ren-san!" I responded, referring to the explosion that had rocked the ground only moments prior.

"That couldn't have been one of ours! Our troops wouldn't be so callous as to let their own get caught in the crossfire!" Ren remarked.

My eyes narrowed and I turned to focus on the rocky path ahead, completely devoid of all plant life, the sky hidden by the steep inclines that rose up on either side of us. We rounded a corner passing by a dead tree, rotting and crumbling away where it stood as we came upon the battle itself.

Lion and Gururubau slid to a halt as we came upon the scene, the scent of dirt, smoke, gunpowder and blood intermingling in the air to create a horrific concoction that we knew all too well. It was the scent of war. I gritted my teeth as the smell assaulted me, my stomach doing flips as I slid down from my mount, Ren doing the same as the troops behind us slowed to a stop.

Ren and I stared down the hill at the battle below us. I glanced at Ren to see his eyes darting about, searching for something amongst the warring units. "Isn't Alfred supposed to be down there?!"

I nodded. "That's what Nehalem said!"

"I can't see him!" Ren responded, craning his neck to see further over the warring units, his vision frequently becoming blocked by the larger Grade 3 units.

I shook my head and sighed. "There's no point in looking for him! We won't be able to see him from here! He'll show up eventually! Either way, we need to join in the fight! We can't wait for Leon to get here!"

Ren turned to me, his crimson eyes locking with my own, a slight smirk crossing his features. "Lead the way, Lead Vanguard!"

With a nod, I turned towards the battle once more, removing the large blade from its scabbard on my back, marvelling at how light the white and blue sword with a red jewel embedded in the hilt—an exact copy of Blaster Blade's—was when I raised it, the incredibly strong, lightweight metal glinting in the sunlight that managed to slowly creep over the ridges high above us and into the valley.

At this signal, I could hear the troops begin to ready themselves as Blaster Blade joined me at my side, Blaster Dark doing the same for Ren, all of whom readied themselves for the sprint down the hill. I took a sharp intake of breath and let my sword fall, the tip pointing down at the battle below.

"CHARGE!" I ordered, immediately taking off down the hill.

All at once, hundreds of deafening battle cries and roars rose up from behind me, drowning out the sound of battle below us as hundreds of thundering footsteps and wingbeats followed, the troops no doubt kicking up a cloud of dust as we forced our way down the hill, being careful not to trip on any of the rocks that jutted out of the uneven ground or slip on the dust that slid out from beneath our feet as we charged onwards.

I felt a rush of adrenaline run through me as we powered into mass of units, pushing the enemy back and absorbing our own injured units into the throng of units who were joining the battle. Within seconds, I found my own blade connecting with the blade of another unit, the vibrations from the clash travelling up my arm as I began to push the opponent backwards slightly, struggling to maintain dominance.

I took in my opponent's appearance. Black hair fell down over pale skin, his fringe falling into his crimson eyes slightly. A long, blood red kimono from which his right arm and part of his chest was free, tied together with a black obi with red trimming held his outfit together, covering his torn, black, formfitting undershirt. He wore black boots that covered most of his legs, disappearing into his kimono and a spare katana and an empty sheath were tucked safely into his obi, the unsheathed blade held in his hands. Two black rings with red outlines interlocked with each other around both of his wrists. With a hiss, he bore his sharp fangs at me.

My eyes widened as I immediately recognised the unit in front of me. At one point, he had been one of our units. A comrade. Now, he was nothing more than a pawn being used for  _his_  nefarious deeds. The rings around his wrists were proof of that. Proof of the force that was taking him over.

…  _Link Joker…_

I knew the unit well. He was a good friend. Stil Vampir, despite his frightening appearance, was a good man. Now, he didn't remember me at all. I narrowed by eyes slightly, the thought stinging me more than I thought it would have. Nevertheless, I had a more pressing matter at hand.

Stil jumped back, seeing that we had been in a stalemate. He lunged again, his sword colliding with mine at a high speed, clanging as our blades made contact over and over again, forcing me backwards as I fought to keep up with the rapid attacks.

As another strike came my way, I saw an opening and, using the flat of my sword, I deflected his sword before charging forwards with a lunge, seeing no other alternative in the heat of battle than to fight with the intent to kill, as much as it pained me. I had no access to the method of releasing him from the power of Link Joker at that moment and my only options were to wait for an opening that may not come and put myself and others at risk as a result or dispatch Stil—something that he no doubt would have wanted if it spared his comrades grief and suffering, no matter how much it pained his executor to do it.

However, just as the tip of my sword neared Stil, he jumped backwards, doing a backflip in mid-air and landing just out of range of my sword. Before I could react, he had charged forwards and his sword had become embedded in my left shoulder, the tip scraping against the bones beneath my skin. With a gasp of shock and pain, I reeled away, focusing on Stil instead of the blood that flowed from my shoulder.

My eyes fixed on Stil and I noted that his eyes were trained on my shoulder as he hungrily stared as the blood that oozed from my new wound. I raised my sword, wincing in pain as I did so. I watched as my sudden movement snapped Stil out of the trance that he had been in and he lunged at me. I brought my sword up defensively, wincing again as a shock ran up my arm from the collision.

Our blades were locked once more, but with the deep wound in my shoulder, Stil was gaining the upper hand this time as I struggled to push his sword back, pain flaring in my shoulder as beads of sweat raced down my face, coating my hair and clothes, making them cling to my body.

However, it was at this point that I saw my chance. Bracing myself for the pain that I would feel upon performing my next task, I removed my left hand from my sword and, with a pained grunt, lunged, aiming for the interlocking rings around his right wrist. My hand caught them at the point where they crossed over and, with a rough tug, the rings disintegrated and my hand grasped at thin air.

I immediately placed my hand back on the hilt of my blade as Stil Vampir, using his strength as a Vampire to push me backwards. It was too late, however, as my feet slid on the dusty ground as I was forced backwards. I slipped and landed on my back, my hands tightening around my swords as I fell to ensure that it didn't slip from my hand.

I grunted as my back met the hard ground, the pain in my shoulder moving down my arm and across my back as I struggled to maintain the grip that I had on my sword. Attempting to ignore the many rocks that jabbed and scraped at my back, I focused on Stil Vampire, immediately seeing that the Reversed unit was preparing to attack once more. Unsheathing his second blade, he brought both blades down on me. As disadvantaged as I was, I managed to keep my sword held up against the crushing power of the undead being above me.

Pushing back, I tried to keep his blades from reaching me, neglecting to notice that he was trying to bring his fangs closer to my neck, the scent of my blood slowly driving him mad with hunger. Eventually catching sight of the glinting fangs, I strained to push him back and get his target—my throat—out of his range.

A chilling, familiar voice reached my ears, the Romanian accent making it distinctive and the proximity to my face allowing me to hear the quiet words over the roars of the other soldiers and the sounds of weapons firing and clashing with each other.

"… You could be immortal…" I heard him say, his voice quiet and raspy. "… You could have the ultimate power on top of that… You just need to give in…" the Vampire smirked, his fangs protruding from his black lips.

I unconsciously shuddered, my mind focused on trying to push my friend backwards as he continued to push me back, his fangs now mere inches from my neck. I tried to stretch my neck, straining to get it out of the way as I felt his sharp fangs scrape against the right side of my throat. Then, I felt a sting as the Reversed unit's fangs penetrated my skin, coming dangerously close to my artery which I could feel throbbing against the foreign objects that brushed up against it as Stil began to take long drafts of my blood.

I instinctively struggled, but within the first 20 seconds or so, I began to lose the strength in my limbs and my head started to swim. My hands slid away from my sword and Stil dropped his own blades, leaning over me and sitting me up slightly, supporting my in his arms as he attempted to get better access to my throat, removing his fangs from my neck as he did so. Tilting my head back, he tucked in again. I winced as his fangs broke my skin again and my vision began to blur even further.

Then, I noticed it. His hand was gripping my shoulder tightly, heavily bruising my skin, no doubt, and causing my wound to bleed further, the pain reaching its climax as I struggled to maintain consciousness. However, what I was focused on were the two rings that interlocked around his wrist. I took a look at Stil's face. He wasn't paying attention to me, his eyes closed as he continued to drink.

I slowly raised my hand, trying to keep it steady as my hand neared the rings around his wrist. Before he could react, I grabbed the rings and yanked them, causing them to disintegrate at my touch. Stil quickly pulled back and I was dropped, hitting the ground with a thud. Summoning strength, I quickly sat up and shuffled backwards, out of the Vampire's way as a reaction began to occur.

Stil let out a pain-filled scream as a red and black haze rose from the unit's body, forcing him down onto his hands and knees. The rings that had bound the power of Link Joker to his body were gone and he was beginning to revert to normal.

Shifting my body, I pulled myself to my hands and knees, attempting to pull myself to my feet, cursing as my vision blurred again. Nevertheless, I shakily pulled myself to my feet, desperately trying to ignore the overwhelming feeling of nausea that washed over me. I struggled to watch through a cloudy fog as Stil's form changed, the red and black colours draining out of him, becoming replaced by different shades of pinks, purples and blues.

Stil remained silent and motionless as he no doubt attempted to regain his bearings, overcoming the memory loss. I swallowed heavily as I watched him, fighting against the nausea that claimed me as I took a shaky step forwards, my hand reaching up to clamp itself over the wounds on my neck which, if the damp feeling that covered my hand was telling me anything, were still dripping with blood.

"… Stil…?" I called hesitantly, almost afraid that Link Joker's influence had not worn off.

Stil's head darted upwards, his sensitive Vampire ears picking my quiet voice over the sounds of war that surrounded us. Recovering quickly, he was on his feet in seconds, his eyes trained on me. I took another step forwards, a relieved smile making its way onto my face, as I tried to get closer to Stil, my vision becoming blocked by a white fog that seemed to grow and grow.

I let my hand fall away from my throat as I lost the strength in it, vaguely seeing Stil tense as I stumbled, my vision obscured and my limbs weak. I wasn't quite sure what happened next as my vision became completely white, blocking out the world around me. However, the next thing I knew, I was in Stil's arms as he darted through the crowd around us, my sheath having been removed from my back and was now slung over his shoulder, my sword inside.

I vaguely noted that Stil was most likely looking for a Healing unit—a unit that possessed a Heal Trigger and a powerful healing magic who usually stayed outside the battle. He didn't appear to be having much luck.

I focused on his face through my clearing vision, looking for any hint of Reverse that may have been left before I tried to use my voice again. "… Stil…?"

Stil glanced down at me and I offered him a small, hopeful smile which Stil returned, albeit not without a hint of guilt as his eyes fell on the wounds on my throat. Nevertheless, he spoke to me as he looked away and scanned the crowd. "Are you alright?" he asked, his voice having lost any of the malicious tones that it had contained mere moments prior.

"… I've been better…" I admitted weakly. "… I'll be fine, though…"

Stil emitted a grunt as his eyes fixed on the area where the troops and I had entered the battle. Beside a boulder to the left of the bottom of the hill, several Healers hid in safety, making sure that they were ready for whoever they needed to treat.

"You'll have to sit this one out," Stil told me, his hand tightening around my shoulder where he already had a firm grip. He loosened his grip as I groaned in pain, my already tortured shoulder oozing more blood. "Sorry…" he muttered sombrely, averting his gaze from me.

"… It's alright…" I assured him, my voice croaking as I forced the words past gritted teeth. "… I'll act as the Relay…" I finally decided, letting my body go limp in his arms as I proceeded to activate my PSY Qualia.

With a sigh, I allowed my PSY Qualia to take control as I felt myself lose all control of my limbs and my vision faded to black as I focused on the connection that my PSY Qualia was opening. As my consciousness faded, I heard myself begin to involuntarily mutter under my breath as my PSY Qualia overloaded my senses in order to gather all of the information that it needed, sending it to the individual at the other side of the link.

I couldn't see, hear or feel. All of my senses had melted away, as did my awareness of all that was going on, my mind becoming blank as coordinates and statistics continued to roll off my tongue. Everything was gone. I was in darkness. Nothing mattered anymore. There was no war. No pain. No suffering. Everything had completely…

…  _Stopped…_

_(Kai's P.O.V.)_

"… Kai Toshiki…" a voice whispered, cutting through the darkness that surrounded me like a hot knife through butter.

Grunting in annoyance, I attempted to roll over and go back to sleep… Nothing happened… In fact… where was the bed? Prying my eyes open, I expected to be assaulted by light only to be met with sheer darkness. My eyes flew wide open and I quickly took a look around, still unable to see nothing in the darkness. For a moment, I seriously contemplated whether I had gone blind. However, upon raising my hand and finding that I could see it clearly despite the darkness, I dismissed that thought and focused on the real problem…

… Where was I…?

"… Kai Toshiki…" the voice whispered again, growing louder in volume as it did so.

That voice was familiar. Was that a child? A young boy? I had definitely heard that voice before… But, where…? Where had I heard it…? I swallowed, taking another look around myself, my eyes narrowing as I peered through the darkness, attempting to see the person who was speaking to me.

"… Kai Toshiki…!" the voice said again, sounding closer and louder than ever, slowly becoming something less than a whisper and more of a cry.

"Who's there?!" I demanded, spurred into responding to the voice.

"… Can you hear me…?!" the voice asked, gaining more power and volume.

"I can!" I replied. "Who are you?!"

"… It's me…!" the voice called back after a few seconds before growing in volume again. "It's me!" it called again, this time sounding as though the speaker was right behind me.

I spun around, coming face-to-face with the speaker who had just seemingly floated into existence—nothing more than a ghostly, blurry image that flickered in and out of existence like static. However, through the static, I could make out a young boy with white hair, yellow eyes and white clothing, the exact style of which was impossible for me to see. Nevertheless, I finally matched the voice to an individual and, in my shock, I tried to step backwards, only to find out that, in my current position as I floated in the dark abyss, I could do nothing of the sort. My eyes remained fixed on the image before me.

… Takuto… Tatsunagi Takuto…!

"… No… It's impossible… You're dead…!" I found myself crying out in alarm.

Takuto appeared to sigh, partially in sadness and partially in annoyance. "I didn't die. I was merely pulled through the portal when Void was defeated." He shook his head. "Never mind. I need you to listen to me."

Taken aback by the urgency in his voice, I looked straight into his flickering eyes and nodded. He let out another sigh as if what he was saying was paining him. Despite my own inability to move, Takuto had no issues with taking a few steps towards me. He reached up and placed an unstable hand on his chest, resting it over his heart.

"… I need your help…" Takuto whispered, closing his eyes. After a few seconds, he finally opened them again, his eyes focused on the ground. "... Me... The units… Cray, itself… Ultra-Rare... Ren… Leon… Chris… Aichi…" He suddenly focused straight on me. "We all need your help!"


	3. Cray

_(Aichi's P.O.V.)_

After what much have been an eternity, my senses came rushing back to me, my entire being becoming drenched in pain as everything came back to me at once. Thankfully, it didn't last too long and, realising that the healers had accomplished what they needed to so, I sat up only to feel a pair of hands grasp my shoulders as if to push me back down. My blurring vision clearing, I looked up at the unit before me.

"Hold on! You shouldn't be moving yet!" Stil cried, his eyes filled with concern.

I smiled at him. "I'll be fine, Stil. The healers have done their job and I'm needed out there. I have to go."

Stil, having learned long ago that there was no point in arguing with me, hesitantly let go of my shoulders, allowing me to stand up. Shaking the stiffness from my limbs, I turned towards the battlefield. Surveying it, I spotted Ren amongst the crowd, his eyes lit up as Chris sent him information from the base, no doubt related to what I had sent him when I acted as the Relay.

Within seconds, the glow of PSY Qualia vanished from his eyes and he shouted something over the noise, giving orders to the small amount of troops that surrounded him. Each took off in a different direction, ready to fulfil their Vanguard's orders to the best of their abilities.

My eyes darting around the edge of the battlefield, I attempted to figure out where it would be best to join the fight from. Seeing no obvious entry points, I decided to throw caution to the wind and make an entry point of my own. Picking my sword up from the ground, I hefted it over my shoulder and made my way towards the crowd, setting my sights on a Link Joker unit that I couldn't identify from the back. However, it was locked in combat with Marron who was struggling to fight back against it.

Coming up from behind it, I swung my sword, decapitating the unit where he stood, ignoring the blood that spurted out onto me. The unit slumped to the ground in front of myself and a very bewildered Marron. Spotting me as I lowered my sword, Marron let out a sigh of relief. I couldn't help but notice his pale complexion. He had obviously been out here for quite a while.

"Why don't you sit out for a while, Marron?" I called over the noise. "You're getting a little pale."

Marron didn't even argue. "Thank you, my Vanguard... I've been out here for quite a while... It's exhausting..."

"Not a problem. There's no point in fighting if you're not at your best." I grinned and pointed towards the area that I had been sitting in until a few moments prior. "Go and sit over there. There's no fighting over there."

"Thank you, my Vanguard..." he repeated with a sigh, jogging over to the area that I had indicated.

It wasn't even seconds later that I felt someone rush up behind me. Spinning around, I locked blades with a Link Joker unit that stood around my own height with silver armour with two red crosses on either side of his chest. He held a pair of black swords with cross-shaped hand guards. Red eyes peeked out from behind the slit in his black, red and gold mask, his pale blue hair flying out behind him as a wild grin of satisfaction made its way onto his face.

"Ah! Someone decent!" he chuckled.

"I'm Sendō Aichi!" I told him, introducing myself.

"Believe me, I know who you are!" he laughed. "I'm Photon, although I have to wonder why the great Sendō Aichi is on the battlefield without his armour!"

"Nice to meet you, Photon!" I grinned, shouting over the noise around us, ignoring his jab at me about my lack of armour. "It's too bad that we're on opposite sides of the fence!"

I grunted with effort as Photon, still grinning like a madman, swung one of his swords at me from above, prompting me to raise my sword above my head, the vibration from the impact running down my arm as Photon's sword clashed with the flat of my blade, shocking me slightly. I quickly jumped away, narrowly avoiding a slash from Photon's second blade as it sailed past my abdomen.

Stepping forwards, I slashed, nicking Photon's upper left arm as he dove out of the way. I heard him curse audibly before he lunged at me again. Before I could completely dive out of the way, my eyes widened in shock as I felt one of Photon's swords slice through my left side. Jumping away, I spared a glance at the shallow wound on my side, wincing as it stung when I moved. It was far from fatal, but it could have been game-changing if it slowed me down.

Gritting my teeth, I backed up again, time seeming to slow down as Photon's sword came within centimetres of my face. Without wasting any time, I lunged forwards, swinging my large blade with a cry of effort. Another audible curse escaped from Photon's lips as he raised both of his swords, crossing them over, catching my sword between the two blades, his arms shaking with effort as my heavier sword began to push him back.

"I believe that we've reached an impasse..." I muttered as it became apparent that neither of us were willing to give an inch. Photon seemed to catch what I had said over the noise.

"I believe so... Let me rectify that..." Photon chuckled in a manner that made me doubt his sanity.

Photon seemed to dig his feet into the ground and pushed. I gritted my teeth as my arms began to shake with the effort and began to ponder whether or not it was necessary to activate my PSY Qualia. Before I could decide, however, I realised that my sword was slowly being pushed into a vertical position. The sword out of his way, Photon moved with blinding speed and leaped into the air, his twin blades still holding my massive sword back.

Suddenly, a blinding pain blossomed in my abdomen as I felt Photon's armoured boots swiftly connect with my stomach and drive the air from my lungs. I fell backwards as Photon was propelled away from me, cackling like a madman once more as I hit the dirty ground, sending up a pile of dust as I slid across the rocky earth and slowed to a stop.

I gasped for air as I heard Photon coming closer to me, his armoured boots clicking and scraping against the stones below his feet. I slowly at up, raising my sword but, before I could prepare myself, I felt my stomach lurch as the cold metal of the tip of his sword rested against my throat.

My mind kicked into overdrive and I felt a tingling sensation behind my eyes, a rush of power exploding inside of me and manifesting on the outside as Photon was blown away by the large blue Vanguard Circle that materialised in the air above me. My rapid heartbeat began to calm and slow and I stood, my limbs no longer shaking with effort as they once had. I crossed the distance between Photon and I and stared down at him from where he lay on the ground, his mind obviously struggling to comprehend what had happened to him.

"Well, Photon..." I could hold back the smile of satisfaction that made its way onto my face. I raised my sword, levelling the point of the blade at his throat. "It appears as though the tables have turned..."

_Meanwhile..._

_(Kai's P.O.V.)_

"Wait... Help...?" I parroted, confused as to why all of this was suddenly happening and still unable to pin down where I was, never mind being able to figure out why Takuto, who I had seen disappear into... well, wherever Void and Link Joker had come from in the first place.

"Yes. Cray is in very grave danger." He saw my confused expression and seemed to frown through the static. "Please allow me to explain. One year ago, after Aichi defeated Void who inhabited my body, Void, from his new vessel, called out to his troops without his vessel's knowledge and declared war on Cray as opposed to Earth. Cray's fate is permanently linked to Earth. The end of Cray would mean the end of Earth, too, and vice versa. Needless to say, I could not allow it to happen, so I called upon the wielders of PSY Qualia for aid."

"So, that's where Aichi went..." I muttered to myself.

Takuto nodded. "The others, too. Surely, you at least noticed that Suzugamori Ren was missing, as well," he responded, his frown deepening.

"Uh..." The necessary words wouldn't form in my mind and, even if they did, I doubted that my now-dry mouth would let me speak.

Takuto sighed. "I see..."

"W-well, sure, I suspected something, but I didn't expect Ren to be in the same place as Aichi..." I suddenly blurted out, desperately trying to dispel any negative thoughts that Takuto had about me. "I mean, it's not unusual for Ren to not answer his phone or leave it off for hours, or even days, on end. I do the same thing. Something was certainly strange in that I haven't heard from him in a year, but it wasn't so strange that I thought that Ren was missing. Neither Tetsu or Asaka had mentioned anything about it to me."

"Well, I think that we know what that means, don't we?" Takuto muttered to himself, crossing his arms and looking away guiltily.

"You mean... they knew...?" I felt my mind go blank. If Ren, Chris and Leon had disappeared without a word, surely they would have come to us about it, but we hadn't heard anything from them since Aichi disappeared. But, if the others trusted their friends to know, why weren't we told? "Why...?"

"I'm afraid that that's something that you'll have to ask him yourself..." Takuto sighed, his form suddenly flickering violently and his voice starting to fade. "I must go, Kai Toshiki. This form won't hold for much longer. I'm transporting you to Cray as we speak."

"But, what am I supposed to do?!" I cried, taking a step towards the static ghost in front of me.

"There isn't enough time!" Takuto called back, his voice barely audible. "Good luck!"

Before I could protest any further, my surroundings turned pitch black and I was bombarded by the sounds of hundreds of voices yelling and screaming in anger, pain, terror and victory all at once. I felt myself falling and, very quickly, hit the hard, dusty ground with an, "Oof!" of pain. I winced in pain as I rolled off a stone that I had called on and pried my eyes open, coming face to face with... a large, sand-coloured rock...

I pulled myself into a sitting position and glanced around, noticing that I was sitting behind a large boulder on a steep slope, the dusty earth imprinted with footprints, hoof prints, paw prints and even some that I couldn't identify. The sun bore down on me from its place high in the sky and tried to figure out exactly where I was.

"Is this... Cray...?" I mumbled, shakily getting to my feet. Remembering my fever, I raised a hand to my forehead, sighing with relief as my temperature felt normal. Perhaps it had been Takuto's prying that caused it... Speaking of Takuto, where was he? How had he even got me there in the first place?

I winced as an explosion went off somewhere behind the boulder, accompanied by a cacophony of screams of terror and anguish. Startled by the sudden noise, I fell to the ground in a panic. Was I in a war zone...?! I scrambled across the dirt, slipping and sliding as the loose, sand-coloured earth gave way beneath my hands and knees, and peeked out from behind the boulder, trying to catch sight of what was going on.

Needless to say, the term 'war zone' was an understatement. I had seen quite a few documentaries about World Wars on TV—usually just something that I left on in the background to have a little noise in my empty apartment while I was eating dinner, usually to give the illusion of company—but this was nothing like what I had seen on TV. Where were the trenches? Where were the guns? Where were the bombs? Where was the barbed wire and the no man's land?

I ducked back behind the boulder again as a blast of some kind of bright green energy hit my stone shield, leaving a few cracks in the surface. Pleased that the barrier between myself and the battle further down the hill was still standing, I let out a sigh of relief and peered out from behind the boulder once more, taking in the carnage with what felt like the innocence of a child.

Energy blasts similar to the one that I had seen before whizzed to and fro across the battlefield, hissing and crackling over the deafening noise of the warring forces. Blood flew up into the air as swords impaled their opponents' bodies, slicing through their flesh like a hot knife through butter.

Trying to push what was going on into the recesses of my mind, my eyes scanned the crowd, searching for any sign of blue or red amongst the throng of units, but there was no sign of any blue and the red that I saw certainly wasn't the red that I was looking for and filled the air with a sickening, metallic smell. Nevertheless, I continued to look for Aichi and Ren, peeking through any openings that popped up between the units.

It was then, however, that my eyes were drawn to a break in the crowd to my far left as a Link Joker unit fell, opening up a space that the other units dared not walk on lest they stand on a body. I peered through the new opening, as my eyes caught a glimpse of blue. Another unit stepped out of the way and, for the briefest second, I saw an image that made my blood run cold.

Aichi, in a long white and blue coat, stood over someone that I didn't recognise, the unit's face twisted into an expression of frustration as a large blade was levelled at his throat. PSY Qualia blazed in Aichi's wide, cold-looking eyes as he stared down at his opponent, his face eerily expressionless. Then, just as soon as I caught sight of them, they were gone as another unit stepped in front of them.

I swallowed heavily, unable to comprehend what it looked like Aichi was going to do. Was he about to kill that guy?! I began to think that it was perhaps for the best. If I ran out there and attempted to stop him, I would most likely be killed. If, by some miracle, I managed to stop Aichi, that unit would retaliate and we'd probably both be killed. Not only that, but Link Joker and Void were the enemy, weren't they? As Takuto said, if Aichi and the others lost, both Earth and Cray would be destroyed. I was shaking my head frantically, trying to forget what I had seen, when a familiar voice cut through the din.

"Nehalem! Flogal! Don't fight units with a higher grade or power! Leave them to the others! Don't give up, everyone! Fight them back!" a somewhat feminine, yet very forceful, voice yelled, attracting my attention, never mind the units who stood beside him.

My eyes scanned the crowd for the source of the voice, finally falling on a shock of bright red hair that had been tied up in a ponytail, standing out against pale skin and a black coat. I felt a sick feeling in my stomach as the man—Ren—breached the wall of soldiers and came out into the open, his black coat fluttering in the breeze, coated by a thin layer of dust, something red trailing down his right cheek.

Alerted by the sight of blood, I craned to see whether it was his own or not, breaking out in a cold sweat as I saw that he most likely hadn't been cut if the round splatter at the top of the trail as opposed to a wound indicated anything. I let out a shaky sigh, unsure if I was relieved of unnerved by the fact that someone else's blood covered the face of one of my best friends.

I leaned out further, contemplating running to him or calling out to him as Ren's eyes darted around the battlefield as if he was searching for something, but I soon found that I didn't need to make myself known. Ren took a step backwards, turning his head. For the briefest of seconds, our eyes met before Ren turned away.

Almost as soon as he saw me, his body froze as his mind seemed to register what he had potentially seen. Slowly, he turned again, our eyes meeting for the second time. Ren went pale, almost as if he had seen a ghost, his eyes scanning me from top to bottom, no doubt trying to make sure that I was real. His mouth moved, his voice drowned out by an explosion of green energy that lit up the battlefield with an eerie green light.

"Ren..."

_(Aichi's P.O.V.)_

"Heh... Would the Lead Vanguard really kill an unarmed man...?" Photon chuckled nervously.

"Unfortunately, we have no room for prisoners," I responded bluntly, thrusting my sword forwards slightly, drawing blood from Photon's throat and earning a grunt of pain.

"Photon-taichou!" a male voice cried out, footsteps pounding against the ground as Demon Claw Star-vader, Lathanum charged towards us from our right, his white armour glinting in the light of the fire that blazed from his helmet and knees. Two rings of fire around either arm began to glow harshly, the large red claws on either hand both following suit.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Photon open his mouth as if to shout, but I didn't give him the chance. I quickly swung my sword in Lathanum's direction, watching expectantly as green eyes widened and blood spurted, showering Photon and I as Lathanum's head separated from his body.

"DON'T COME OVER HERE, YOU IDIOT!" he screamed, far too late to make a difference. The deed had, quite obviously, already been done. Before Photon could make a move, my sword was at his throat again, Photon's body trembling with fear and rage, my PSY Qualia-filled eyes no doubt staring back blankly.

"Now... Where were we...?"

_SHIIIING!_


	4. The Price to Pay

_(Aichi's P.O.V.)_

_SHIIIING!_

My blade stopped short of Photon, the man eyeing it warily, a bead of sweat trailing down his face. I frowned down at him, letting the light of PSY Qualia in my eyes flare brightly. Photon seemed to sink even further into the ground, no doubt desperately wishing to get away from the blade.

"I have a proposition for you, Photon!" I yelled as another loud magical explosion occurred somewhere on the other side of the battlefield, threatening to drown out my voice.

Photon swallowed heavily as the noise dimmed again. "What do you mean?"

"I want you to call off your troops. Spare my men, and I'll spare your head."

There was silence between us. Photon had gone pale, shaking like a leaf. "How do I know you'll honour that? What happened to your policy of no mercy?" Photon inquired nervously, seemingly meeting my gaze behind his visor.

"I'm afraid you don't get to choose. Give out the order or die. It's your choice," I told him, thrusting my sword closer to his throat.

Seconds passed and, hesitantly, Photon nodded. I stepped back slightly, allowing him to sit up, but not to move any further. In a shaking voice, Photon yelled.

_"Retreat!"_

Within seconds, the word was echoed by the surrounding Link Joker troops before spreading throughout the entire opposing army. I backed away further as the enemy started to run in the direction from which they came. The distance between us allowed Photon to scramble to his feet and scamper away, disappearing to the crowd as a cheer went up from the victorious side.

I let my PSY Qualia slip, suddenly noticing the the energy, or lack thereof, that the power had sapped from me. Digging my sword into the ground, I used it to support myself as my eyes started to burn and my vision dimmed. Adrenaline gone, the wound on my side started to burn white hot, and I found myself losing the strength to keep myself up. I lost my grip on my sword and stumbled, only for a pair of hands to catch me by the shoulders.

"My Vanguard...?" I heard Stil's voice ask gently. He supported me until I managed to stand upright, albeit shakily. I opened my mouth to respond, but all that escaped was a hiss of pain as the burning in my eyes flared up and I saw my vision disappear entirely. "Come, my Vanguard. I'll escort you to a Healer."

I nodded silently, allowing Stil to lead me away.

_Meanwhile..._

_(Ren's P.O.V.)_

During the battle, I wasn't quite sure what I had seen. Shaking off my shock, I had continued to fight until the retreat of the enemy, but with the fight over, I could no longer contain my curiosity. I returned to the area in front of the rock, no longer seeing anyone even vaguely resembling my friend peering around the edge of the rock.

Taking a deep breath, I began to step forwards, straining my neck to have a look at what lay behind the large rock, its rugged pale brown surface now pockmarked from the effects of magical blasts. Rounding the corner, my suspicions were confirmed to be true. Kai sat up against the rock, hugging his knees to his chest, eyes wide and skin pale.

"I thought so..." I muttered to myself, my stomach lurching with concern for my friend who, from what I could see, didn't seem to be feeling very well, and for good reason.

Hearing my voice, Kai jumped, his eyes, once trained on something that was no doubt non-existent in the distance, darted around. Kai's startled mind was attempting to make sense of the situation as he located my voice, his gaze eventually falling on me.

Having laid eyes on someone familiar, Kai seemed to calm down slightly, his tense posture relaxing as he let out a sigh of relief. I made my way over to him and slumped against the rock, sliding to the ground, never taking my eyes off of him. I could have bombarded him with questions and questioned his sudden change of nature from the strong, independent personality that he once had to his current seemingly timid one, but I quickly found myself wondering if such a thing was appropriate. That, and, upon refection, I believe that, in that moment, I understood, even if I didn't know it then. He'd seen war for the first time. He'd seen death. We'd all been there. We'd all changed, some of us for the worse. Eventually, I could do nothing but let out a sigh, deciding to choose my questions wisely.

"So... How did you get here...?" I inquired hesitantly, not quite sure what to say to him.

"T-Takuto..." Kai muttered, gulping as if he was trying not to be sick.

"Takuto-kun?" I parroted, my eyes growing wide. "But, why?"

Kai's jaw seemed to lock up, he buried his face in his knees, and his body grew tense once more. I wondered exactly how much of the battle he had seen, and if Takuto-kun had anything to do with his current behaviour. However, I quickly decided that Kai's wellbeing came before anything else at that point.

I reached out to place what I hoped was a comforting hand on his shoulder, only to stop short as I sighted a bright crimson colour staining my hand. Quickly withdrawing my hand and wiping it off on my coat, I leaned forwards to get a better look at Kai's face.

"Come on, Kai. I should take you to Aichi-kun. He'll have a better idea of what to do with you." I grinned awkwardly, immediately noticing how Kai visibly perked up, glancing up at me from behind his legs.

"Aichi...? He's OK...?" Kai asked, his voice barely audible.

I blinked. "OK? We're all OK. Did you come here for him?"

"I... wanted to find all of you..."

He had hesitated. Strangely, I didn't feel hurt, despite his blatant lie. Nevertheless, with my hands wiped off, I stood and pulled Kai to his feet. There was a moment of silence, and Kai seemed to be reluctant to move.

"Don't worry. The fighting is over. Shall we go?" I suggested, placing my arm around Kai's shoulders. Without any form of confirmation, Kai relented and we made our way out towards the battlefield.

Meanwhile...

(Leon's P.O.V.)

A minor injury to my arm was all it was. A few minutes with Elaine and the Elf had me right as rain. I wasn't entirely sure what had happened out on the battlefield, what with the enemy retreating, but as with most things that went on on Cray, I had a suspicion that either Ren or Aichi had something to do with it. I sincerely hoped that it was Aichi's doing. Ren would have caused too much collateral damage doing something idiotic, and Aichi and I would be the ones to clean it up, no doubt.

My hopes were ever-so-slightly shaken as I looked up to see an un-Reversed Stil Vampir, of all units, leading Aichi towards the Healers, Aichi clutching his eyes with one hand and his waist with the other. I tried to hold back, thinking for a moment that the aged vampire may have been trying to do the right thing, but found myself unable to do so, rage and worry swirling together in the pit of my stomach until I could no longer take it anymore.

I quickly closed the distance between us and, supporting Aichi with my left arm, I roughly shoved Stil out of the way, breaking out in a cold sweat as I did so, my heart beating faster as the aged vampire regarded me with an expression of shock. Stil raised his hands as if to show that he meant no harm, and I heard Aichi gasp in shock, unable to figure out what had just happened to him. He tried to turn around, unable to remove his hand from its place in front of his eyes, almost as if the light would hurt him.

"Stil...?" he inquired quietly, obviously confused. I tried my best to ignore him.

"What do you think you're doing...?!" I hissed, holding Aichi closer as if I could possibly protect my friend and leader.

"I mean him no harm. I merely wish to find a Healer for him," Stil responded calmly, looking me in the eyes.

"Likely story," I found myself scoffing. Looking down, I scanned Aichi's body for any signs of injury other than his most obvious wound. My blood boiled. Two red puncture wounds on the side of his neck stuck out like a sore thumb. I turned Aichi around slightly and pulled down his collar for Stil to see. "This is your idea of helping?!"

"L-Leon...? Is that you...?" Aichi questioned weakly, but not without his usual confidence, having finally placed my voice. "H-he did that while he was Reversed, Leon... It's not his fault..."

"Really? Not his fault? Was he under the influence of Reverse the first time he did this to you, too?! Can you explain away his actions back then?!" I snapped, immediately regretting raising my voice towards an injured comrade.

"That was an accident!" Aichi snapped back, his face turning red with anger.

"Can you prove something like that?! Did you ever consider that he's been lying to you?! We can't trust-!"

"Leon!" Aichi bellowed, any sign of weakness leaving his voice as he forcefully removed his hand from his eyes and quickly cut me off before I could say any more. The anger and sorrow in his tone caused me to falter, and I found myself taking a step back in shock as his unseeing eyes seemed to search for me.

"Now, now. Let's not fight. You need a Healer," Stil reasoned, slowly stepping towards Aichi and placing a hand on his back. Aichi, upon feeling the hand, stiffened and then relaxed, his hand reaching for his eyes as he no doubt felt the light burning them.

Aichi didn't complain. Following Stil's guidance, the two slowly began to walk away, Stil directing Aichi around any potential hazards. I hesitantly followed behind, Aichi's voice still ringing in my ears, though not shaking my beliefs as it did so. I aimed what I hoped was a threatening glare at the back of Stil Vampir's head, but it seemed to amount to nothing. He neither noticed me, nor flinched. Still, within my mind, it was far better than doing nothing.

Meanwhile...

(Kai's P.O.V.)

It was a shock, but I had to shake it off as Ren led me through the crowds of people, his hand firmly clamped around my wrist, although not painfully so, preventing me from getting lost in the crowd that inadvertently jostled us about. It wasn't the time or the place for me to panic. Glancing around, I took in the units around me, none of whom seemed concerned with either Ren or myself.

"Um..." I began struggling to break the silence between the redhead and myself. Ren glanced back at me, his expression one of curiosity. "So... is every unit here?"

"Not every unit," Ren quickly responded with a sheepish grin. "Some Magallanica units need water to move or live, so they couldn't make it, and neither Kagerō nor Neo Nectar want anything to do with our army. That, and some units have been Reversed. We're doing all that we can with regards to them, but they obviously aren't here for the moment."

I frowned. "Wait... Kagerō isn't fighting? Why?"

Ren pondered the question for a moment before smiling sheepishly once again. "Well, with Neo Nectar, they just didn't want to get involved in a war and suffer losses, but it's a bit more complicated with Kagerō. I'll explain later. For now, we should find Leon-kun and Aichi-kun."

I nodded quietly, following him deeper into the crowd until we found ourselves approaching a large, somewhat circular area shielded by jagged rocks on all sides aside from an opening in the front. The units all seemed to be converging around it, and yet, now that we were drawing closer to the area, they began to part to allow us to pass, seemingly at the first sight of Ren. If any eyes were facing us, they were looking at him. As far as I could tell, I seemed to go unnoticed.

"Oi! Leon-kun!" Ren suddenly called, his grasp on my arm suddenly tightening, no doubt inadvertently as his face lit up with recognition. I winced as, for a mere moment, his grip became vice-like and I fought back against the urge to recoil in shock. Ren didn't seem to notice, but his grip quickly slackened and I was pulled forwards again, and I was left to wonder whether I'd really felt the strength that I thought I had.

Through the crowd, I spotted the blond leaning against a rock, watching the crowds of units with a scowl on his face. Purple eyes, no less piercing than usual, were fixed on Ren in an instant, but his gaze shifted very quickly, falling on me. His eyes widened in shock as we approached, but his frown quickly returned and he stood up straight. He marched towards us and we were forced to slow to a stop as the smaller boy quickly halted before us, eyes darting between the both of us as if he had no idea where to look first. Eventually, his gaze fell on Ren once more, and after a few moments of exasperated silence, Leon stood up as straight as he possibly could and opened his mouth to speak.

"Ren…! What is the meaning of this…?!" he hissed, trying to get as close to eye level with Ren as he possibly could.

"I didn't do anything!" Ren insisted, letting go of my wrist and crossing his arms defiantly. "I found him out there. He says that Takuto brought him."

Leon's jaw fell slack and his gaze turned to me once more. "Why? What could  _he_  do? He doesn't have PSY Qualia," he blurted, no doubt not meaning to offend me, but he was doing a pretty good job of unintentionally trying, and I found myself shooting him a glare which seemed to go unnoticed.

"That's what I'm hoping to find out when we get back to HQ. First and foremost, though, where's Aichi-kun?" Ren asked, an air of curiosity entering his tone as he craned his neck, trying to look over the tops of the heads of the units around him.

"I'm not sure what happened, but he used PSY Qualia a too much again and he's resting," Leon informed us, sounding slightly distracted as he turned his head to look behind himself. I presumed that Aichi must have been over there somewhere. "I trust it was him who got the Link Joker forces to retreat, not you."

"How'd you guess?" Ren asked, sounding equally as distracted as he tried to follow Ren's gaze. There was a pause and Leon seemed to process the information.

"Not enough collateral damage," he eventually responded, turning to face us again, scowl back in place.

"Hey!" Ren began before pausing, thinking carefully about his next words. Eventually, he simply pouted. "You didn't have to say it so bluntly…"

"Blaster Dark's words, not mine," Leon told him, crossing his arms with a smirk.

Ren shook his head. "Never mind. How is he? Not too damaged, I hope."

"No. He has a wound on his side and trouble seeing at the moment, but that'll pass. It's the price we have to pay for things like that," Leon noted, his frown deepening.

"Don't I know it," Ren responded with a sigh, reaching up to scratch the back of his head. "Any news from the Healers about when we can move back to HQ?"

"They've done most of the work by now, supposedly," Leon informed him, perking up a little. "We didn't suffer too many losses this time, according to Chris. Nobody's been Reversed, at least, and a few people were saved, including that guy Stil Vampir. No idea why he's still here."

Ren grunted in annoyance. "I still don't know about that guy…"

Finally plucking up the courage to speak, I decided that now was as good a time as any to start asking questions. "Why? What's wrong with him?"

"Huh. What isn't wrong with him?" Leon scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Why keep him with you if he's doing bad things, then?" I frowned, confused that such a thing would be allowed to happen. "Doesn't that make him a liability?"

"We can't do a thing about it, Kai. It's Aichi-kun's decision, not ours, and Aichi-kun seems to think he's worth something," Ren began, his expression quickly becoming serious. "Just don't go near him, Kai. He's bad news. Trust me."

Needless to say, I was confused. Aichi liked him, but Ren and Leon didn't? What was all of this about Aichi having the last say, too? Was he in charge? What was he doing here? What were they  _all_ doing here? I opened my mouth to ask another question, but Leon immediately cut me off before I could utter so much as a syllable.

"No more questions. This isn't the time or the place. We'll explain when we get back HQ where it's safe. You might not be able to see them, but there's no telling if the Link Joker forces are still hanging around," Leon told me, his bold tone leaving no room for retorts. Eyes scanning the cliffs around us, he turned. "We shouldn't stay here any longer…" he muttered just loudly enough to be heard over the noise before raising his voice. "I'll tell the Healers that we're moving. Get the troops in order. We're going back to the base."

"Will do!" Ren called after him before turning to me and taking hold of my wrist again. "Come on. I'll show you how we get the troops in line," he told me with a grin.

I couldn't help but frown. Did I really want to know…?


	5. "In hindsight, I was an idiot. Not much has changed, though." - Sendō Aichi

_(Aichi's P.O.V.)_

"Are your eyes feeling any better, my Vanguard?" I heard Elaine ask gently, her hands covering my bandaged eyes as she poured more of her soothing healing magic into me.

"Much better, thank you," I hurriedly responded, hoping to just get the bandages off as soon as possible and get back to work. It had felt like hours since I'd woken up in the infirmary. "When can I take the bandages off?"

"Later tomorrow, at the latest. PSY Qualia isn't really something that we deal with so we don't entirely know how it works, my Vanguard, but it appears to rectify itself relatively quickly," she replied, removing her hand from my face. Her voice seemed stern, almost as if she expected me to disobey her.

"Don't worry. I won't run off again," I quickly assured her, recalling the harsh verbal bashing I'd received from King Alfred the last time I'd done it.

She let out a, "Hmm..." that sounded sceptical, as if she didn't quite believe me. "Vanguard Leon expressed his intention of visiting you later today."

"What about the others?"

"I'm sure they'll follow."

I paused in thought for a second, considering my next move. Before I could open my mouth to order her to send the whole group, there was a knock at the door. It opened up with barely a creak.

"I'm sorry. I hope I'm not interrupting anyone," I heard a deep male voice say.

I turned my head towards where I hoped the doorway was. "Stil?"

"Yes, sir. I was hoping to have a word with you," Stil eagerly responded, the door swinging open as far as it would go and tapping against the wall.

"Elaine, could we please have some privacy?" I immediately requested, listening to Elaine shuffle awkwardly beside me.

"Uh... Ah..." she stammered awkwardly, as though she didn't like the thought of leaving me alone with Stil, before finally settling on a quiet, "Yes, sir..." I heard her shuffle off, and when the door soon closed, it became apparent that Stil and I were alone.

After a few moments of silence, Stil began to stride towards me with heavy footsteps, his voice taking on a more confident tone. "My Vanguard, I was hoping to have a word with you."

"How are you out and about during the daytime, Stil?" I interrupted before he could say anything more, my curiosity getting the better of me. "You'd normally turn to mist, wouldn't you?"

"That's what I'm here to talk about, my Vanguard. This is unusual," Stil responded with an unusual emotion in his tone of voice that I couldn't recognise without my sight. He shifted in place as though he had lost his nerve. "When a unit is Reversed, it's as though the power of Link Joker eliminates all of their weaknesses to create a more complete being. When I returned to consciousness on the battlefield with you, I thought that the power was still merely in the process of disappearing and that it would vanish rapidly... but it's been a day and there have been no changes, my Vanguard."

"Stil, I understand that this is a pressing matter for you, but I don't have the answer to things like this. What made you come to me?" I responded somewhat incredulously, although that didn't stop worry for Stil settling in my gut like lead.

"I..." Stil paused, and it was almost as though I could hear the intense frowning that he was no doubt doing. "To be honest, my Vanguard... I don't know..." he sheepishly admitted. "This was on my mind and I just began to walk... Would it be odd if I said that it felt as though I was being led by something?"

I was taken aback by this statement, but attempted to remain impassive as my thoughts ran a mile a minute. I unconsciously raised my hand and touched it to my chest, just over my heart where I had felt the almost innocent tingling of Void's Seed enter my body so many months ago, and I frowned deeply beneath my bandages, only able to come to one conclusion.

"Fascinating..." I muttered to myself, absentmindedly rubbing Void's point of entry on my chest with my thumb. If Still heard me, he didn't remark on it.

"I-I'm sorry to have bothered you, my Vanguard..." Stil eventually muttered, his voice sheepish. "I'm not sure why I thought that bothering you would help... I'll excuse myself..."

Before Stil could leave, however, I removed my hand from my chest and reached it out towards Stil. "Give me your hand, Stil," I commanded, hoping that I left no room for argument, seeing as I didn't think that I'd be able to get up and chase him if he didn't comply.

Wordlessly, Stil approached me and delicately placed his hand in mine. Taking the back of his hand in my palm, I lightly placed in on the bandages on the side of my throat, feeling him flinch as I did so. Not bothering to turn my head towards where I thought his eyes may have been, I merely held his hand steady and spoke in what I hoped was a calm manner.

"Stil, we don't shy away from these things. We accept that they've happened, we forgive ourselves, and we move on. Do you understand?"

"Y-yes, my Vanguard... I'm sorry..." Stil eventually responded, unable to hide the shame in his voice.

I remained silent for a moment before removing my hand and letting him go. After feeling his hand slowly retract from my throat, I let a small smile sneak its way onto my face.

"Now, go and have some fun before that power fades away. I'm sure you haven't seen the sun in thousands of years."

"Y-yes, my Vanguard..." Stil slowly responded as if he wasn't sure what to say or think. "Thank you..."

I felt him walk away, and once the door had closed and I was sure that he was gone, the smile dropped from my face and I was left with deafening silence and my even more deafening thoughts.

_How many more people have I poisoned...?_

_(Kai's P.O.V.)_

I found it difficult to believe that Ren, as airheaded as he was, had failed to remember my… issues with my sense of direction, for lack of a better term. Simple directions, I was OK with. Complex directions, not so much.

Go left at the end of this hallway, turn right at the end of the next one, go left at the third corner down the next hall, open the third door on the right and walk left down the hallway, take the fifth hall on the right, and… I failed to recall any more. With all the units standing around doing nothing, I failed to understand why he couldn't just send one of them with me, or why he couldn't write the directions down, at the very least.

Everything looked the same as I walked down the corridors, what with the white walls, tall, rounded windows, golden candlestick holders on the walls between the windows, and red carpets that were precisely centred on shiny wooden floors. Aside from the odd piece of wooden furniture, such as a chest of drawers, usually with an ornate vase or ornament set upon it, there were no landmarks and I was left wondering how anyone found their way in this building with no signs to guide them.

Either way, I was supposed to be looking for Aichi's private infirmary. According to Ren, Aichi would have a better idea of what to do with me. He was more intelligent than Ren, more level-headed than Leon, and more capable of making unbiased decisions than Chris, and evidently, none of them trusted themselves to do the job, or perhaps they just didn't want to. I doubted if I'd ever find out. Perhaps I didn't even want to.

It was at this moment that I heard footsteps and my heart leapt with relief. I hastened my pace and rounded the corner, hoping to find someone who could help me. I was surprised to find that the next corridor was much longer than I had expected, and the individual in question was much further down the corridor than I had initially anticipated, their footsteps apparently echoing off the walls.

Hastening down the hallway, the unit quickly came into view, revealing a gargantuan man with pale skin that appeared to have an almost bluish tint to it. His shiny black hair was tied back in a loose topknot, his fringe falling haphazardly over his deep purple eyes in thin strands, and a pale pink kimono with a darker pink lining, the right side of which dangled loosely at his side, covered what appeared to be a skin-tight blue outfit with a multitude of holes in it that on closer inspection appeared to be in the images of the different symbols on playing cards. An ornate green and gold shoulder plate was attached to his exposed right shoulder and two katana with red hilts, golden handguards, and blue sheaths were tucked haphazardly into a dark pink obi at his waist, a golden, jewelled piece of metal hanging from the obi as a form of decoration. Blue boots with heart patterns at the top tapped loudly on the carpeted floor, and his eyes seemed to light up as I approached, although with what emotion, I couldn't tell. What I could recognise, however, was who he was. He was obviously Tetsu's favourite unit, Stil Vampir, and that filled me with even more relief now that I had personally recognised a unit that night even recognise me back.

"Good day!" he called with a fanged grin as I approached him. "You're certainly not a unit. What's an Earth human doing wandering around here?"

I slowed to a stop in front of Stil Vampir, suddenly realising that he was even larger than I'd first thought. I tried to stand up as straight as possible, hoping to look a little larger in front of the mighty vampire and focused on the problem at hand.

"My name's Kai Toshiki. I just arrived on Cray. Ren sent me to look for Aichi's infirmary, but..." I trailed off, suddenly feeling rather embarrassed, and I averted my gaze as though that would somehow help matters, sincerely hoping that the burning sensation in my cheeks was not a blush. "I appear to have gotten a little lost..."

Stil Vampir let out a deep, hearty laugh and roughly patted me on the shoulder. "Oh, don't worry about that. This building is like a maze. I think we all got lost at some point." Placing his hand at his hip, his toothy grin only seemed to widen, his white fangs poking out over his dark lips in an almost frightening manner. "You say that you're Kai Toshiki, though. You're the Lead Vanguard's friend, aren't you?"

If, by 'Lead Vanguard', he meant Aichi, then, "Yes, I am," I responded, establishing eye contact once more and hoping that I sounded confident. "I was on his team back on Earth. I was also part of Ren's team at one point, too."

"Ah! Delightful!" was the vampire's seemingly-genuine response. "They'll have changed quite a bit since you last saw them, but please continue to support them, especially the Lead Vanguard. He needs a helping hand."

I frowned. "Helping hand?" I parroted. "Did something happen?"

The smile disappeared from Stil Vampir's face, and the pale vampire turned away, running a hand through his hair with a thoughtful frown before finally turning back to me with a somewhat apologetic, nervous smile, far less radiant than the one that had disappeared from his face moments prior.

"To be honest, Kai Toshiki, it isn't my place to say. It's a private matter that the Lead Vanguard would probably prefer to discuss with you directly, if he wishes to discuss it at all. Please don't try to force him to say anything," Stil Vampir informed me, sounding almost tired as he spoke. I nodded soundlessly as the vampire moved to stand beside me, placing a cold hand on my shoulder and pointing down the hallway. "You're nearly there, anyway. You'll want to go straight down here, turn left the first chance you get, and then keep looking right. His room is clearly marked as his private infirmary. You can't miss it," he kindly explained, and with a quick, "Good luck," he turned and walked away before I could even process the fact that he'd left.

With his footsteps echoing down the long hallway, I turned to face him. "Thank you, Stil Vampir!" I called after him only to be met with a chuckle and a wave.

"Stil is fine," the vampire responded jovially, never bothering to turn around.

Instructions fresh in my mind, I turned my back on Stil and, forcing any anxiety I may have had down and out of sight, I made the final trek down the hallway, knowing that my goal for the past year was at the very end of it. A feeling of elation washed over me and my steps quickened. Turning the corner, it was only a matter of time before I stopped in front of a wooden door that was much larger and grander than the other simple doors that I'd seen before, with fancy panels set into the mahogany door, an intricate brass handle and some powerful carvings of Lion Mane Stallion that had been etched into the doorframe. Neatly placed between the panels was a shiny brass plaque that bore the inscription 'Lead Vanguard's Infirmary'. Another sign that was stuck to the wall beside the door—this one merely words written on a piece of paper in black ink—read 'Knock before entering. Don't disturb our Lead Vanguard needlessly.'

This wasn't needless, I quickly decided.

_Knock, knock._

_(Aichi's P.O.V.)_

"Enter..." I called at the sound of a knocking door, hoping that I didn't sound as tired, pained and irritated as I felt.

I had just been about to lie down in the hopes of having some semblance of a rest when I was disturbed yet again. Whoever it was seemed to hesitate for a few seconds before the door opened with a creak. Whoever it was shuffled into the room and the door was slowly and quietly closed behind them before standing wordlessly next to the door. I frowned beneath my bandages and quickly went through all the possibilities regarding who this mystery person might be.

"Is that you, Leon?" I inquired, remembering how Elaine had mentioned how he would be visiting. However, the visitor said nothing. Warily, I reached beneath the covers, resting my fingers on the hidden dagger in my belt, knowing that the person wouldn't be able to see me do so from my position at the door. "Well?" I prompted, my tone betraying my irritation. "Speak up."

"Aichi..."

Almost as soon as the words had left my mouth, a soft yet confident voice spoke up. It was deep and familiar, but I couldn't place it. Did any units speak like that? Did any units dare to refer to me by name, for that matter? There was Blaster Dark, but he didn't sound like that, and he wasn't a very good actor, so it couldn't have been him. It definitely didn't sound like Leon-kun. Ren-san, perhaps?

"Is that you, Ren-san?" I asked the man, turning my head in his general direction.

"N-no. It's not," the man stammered nervously before seemingly regaining his composure and taking several long strides across the room, stopping only when he was next to me. My hand tightened around the handle of my knife in response.

"Then, who is it?" I asked with gritted teeth. I didn't appreciate people beating around the bush. If the man before me wished to speak with me, then he would have been better off just speaking up. The sooner he did, the sooner I could get him out and get back to my rest. If he wasn't a friend, but a foe, I was somewhat confident in my ability to put a quick end to such a nervous individual, even without my sight.

The man took a deep breath before shifting in place, and I got the impression that he was trying to be confident, but upon seeing me face-to-face, that confidence had faltered, but why, I couldn't be sure. Was it just because he was meeting the Lead Vanguard, or was it because of what he had to say?

"Aichi," the familiar voice spoke confidently, all hesitation suddenly draining away from him. "It's me. Kai Toshiki."

My mind went blank, and without thinking, I almost immediately blurted out, "Ren-san, if this is another one of your practical jokes, it's not a very impressive one."

The voice that responded was laced with surprise. "It's...not a joke, Aichi."

Silence reigned inside the room as my blood ran cold with shock, and I was slowly consumed by a seething rage that I quickly had to fight back before it became apparent to the man who claimed to be Kai-kun. My hands tightened on my bedsheets until they started to tingle, yet I still managed to stop myself long enough to take a deep breath in the hopes of calming myself. If nothing else, it would allow me to ensure that my choice of words were not completely governed by anger.

"Takuto-kun sent you, didn't he?" I asked, wincing slightly as my tone of voice came out sounding colder than I had meant it to, and I hoped that it wouldn't be noticed.

"He had good reason to, he said. Don't be angry at him," 'Kai-kun' immediately tried to explain, his tone hopeful.

Another pause. I inhaled deeply once more. "What was this reason...?" I eventually asked, my monotone voice hiding the anger that lurked beneath it. My eyes narrowed behind my bandages as I waited for an explanation that would no doubt fail to satisfy me.

"Honestly...I don't know," 'Kai-kun' admitted, and I found myself unable to figure out his feelings on the matter without an expression to read.

Even so, the honest answer caught me by surprise, and taken aback as I was, I found myself echoing him with a surprised, "You don't know?"

"Yeah. Takuto just told me that you all needed me, but he didn't have time to explain why before he disappeared and I arrived here," 'Kai-kun' explained, and I heard him shuffling around, his uncertain tone telling me that he wasn't satisfied with his own explanation.

I gritted my teeth, unable to bottle up my anger anymore, my desire to give Takuto-kun a piece of my mind overwhelming every ounce of common sense that I had. My doubt that this was the real Kai-kun was rapidly disappearing, and the knowledge that it was likely really him was filling me with a cold, seething rage.

"So, he just picked you up and left you in the middle of a battlefield without any explanation," I responded quietly, anger bleeding into my tone of voice.

"That...appears to be the case," the man who was supposedly Kai-kun responded, not nervously, as I had originally thought, but rather taken aback as though he hadn't quite considered the position he was in, and the reality of the situation was only now dawning on him.

"I need to give him a piece of my mind," I rapidly, and idiotically, decided, and with a growl, I tore the bandages off my eyes. The sunlight instantly began to burn my eyes, and I found myself clumsily dropping the bandages as I brought my hands up to shield my eyes.

"What are you doing?! You have to put those back on!" the man beside me suddenly demanded, tone filled with worry, and I felt him fumble for the bandages on the bed.

"Close the curtains!" I barked, and after a moment of hesitation, or perhaps shock, he left my side. At the sound of the curtains closing, I hesitantly pulled my hands away from my eyes as the source of the blinding light disappeared. "He had no right..." I found myself muttering. "No right at all..."

Despite the continued burning in my eyes, I glanced up at the man as he rapidly approached my bedside again, the dim light illuminating him just enough for me to make out his general outline, despite my blurring vision. He was, indeed, Kai-kun, and somehow, the very sight of him made me angrier than ever before, although none of it was directed at him, yet this anger made me wish to shout at Takuto-kun even more, and perhaps even louder.

It was then that I made the idiotic decision to attempt to activate my PSY Qualia to contact Takuto, as if I hadn't already learned my lesson about using it too much that day already. Almost immediately, the burning intensified, and I felt my PSY Qualia struggle to activate, feeling it sputter into life before rapidly fading over and over again. Kai-kun shouted something I couldn't hear properly as my hearing rapidly began to fail me and my vision swam, my powers almost immediately sucking what little energy I had left from my body. In mere seconds, the burning in my eyes intensified to unbearable levels, my body felt as heavy as lead, and as far as I'm aware, I seem to have collapsed, for I remember little else after that moment aside from the distant sound of several voices as I fell into a fitful sleep.


	6. Something Resembling Normalcy

(Aichi's P.O.V.)

It had been my own fault that I was in the position I was in, but despite their incessant teasing about how I'd been handcuffed to the bed for the duration of my stay in the infirmary, it was quite obvious that Ren-san, Leon-kun, Chris-kun, and even Elaine-san, who had confined me to the infirmary in such a manner in the first place, didn't blame me.

Kai-kun's sudden arrival had shocked us all, and while Chris-kun had chosen to withhold his judgement for the time being, Ren-san and Leon-kun were quite bothered by it. A quiet fury now lay beneath their usual demeanours, and Kai-kun had begun to pick up on it. That much was evident, judging by the way that he became awkwardly quiet around them in the days since his arrival in a way that was unusual, even for Kai-kun.

These thoughts played over and over in my head as I tried to figure out the reasoning behind Takuto-kun's decision, ignoring the click of the handcuff on my right wrist being unlocked. My arm suddenly released, I absentmindedly drew my hand up in front of me to rub at my wrist, hoping to make the last vestiges of my discomfort disappear.

I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder, and I was slowly drawn from my thoughts, looking up into Elaine-san's green eyes, her golden bracelets jangling as she reached up to brush her long green hair out of her face, instead brushing it behind her long pointed ears where it would be out of the way, revealing her circlet of gold and the red gem that seemed to have been set into her forehead. The warm breeze that blew through the open window next to me ruffled her gravity-defying hair and nearly-translucent white clothes.

"Are you OK, my Vanguard?" she asked tentatively, a slight frown making its way onto her face. "You seem troubled."

I did my best to smile, despite the circumstances. "Don't worry about me, Elaine-san. I'm just thinking about Takuto-kun, that's all," I assured her, my mind already going back to the issue at hand.

Her frown deepened. "Well... If you're sure..." She was silent for a second or two as she appeared to ponder her next words. "Perhaps Vanguard Chris can help you with whatever you're thinking about. He's more intelligent than most of us," she admitted with a slight blush of embarrassment.

"I'll be discussing it with the other Vanguards," I informed her bluntly, slipping out of bed. "Of course, His Majesty will have to be made aware of the developments, too..." I muttered absentmindedly as the thought only just then occurred to me. I slipped out of the gown that I'd been given when I was placed in the infirmary, already vaguely aware that I'd evidently been discharged.

Elaine-san hummed thoughtfully. "I'll leave you to it, then, my Vanguard. I'm sure that His Majesty will be able to make sense of it," she finally said with a beaming smile, suddenly looking much more confident at the mere mention of the King—a common trait among the Royal Paladins who tended to put their utmost faith in King Alfred, as though the man could do no wrong, and I have to admit, at the time, I desperately wanted to believe the same.

Elaine-san turned her back to me and went about her work, checking the abysmally low stocks of medication within the tiny infirmary, allowing me to change in silence, wincing occasionally as the wound in my side stretched and rubbed against the bandages, yet not enough to stop me from moving somewhat normally.

As I pulled on my coat, still torn and bloody from the battle, I briefly thought about who I could take it to to get it mended, or if it was, indeed, worthwhile, considering the fact that the repairs to our armour would likely be finished soon. To soon be back in that familiar armour, holding my familiar weapon, was a comforting thought, and I briefly wondered how Hephaestus had even begun to fix our weapons and the mangled mess that had at one point been Leon-kun's armour.

Deciding that I would check in on Hephaestus before I made any sort of decision with regards to my tattered clothing, I turned to Elaine-san, offering her what I hoped was a heartfelt, "I'm sorry for taking up your time."

Not even turning to face me, Elaine-san kept her eyes on the small brown pill bottle that she held in one hand, seemingly checking the name on the label against something that was written on the document that was attached to the clipboard that she held in her other hand. Briefly raising her hand in recognition, the tablets in the bottle rattling as she did so, she responded with a quick, "That's what I do," before focusing on her task once again.

I opened the infirmary's squeaking door and headed into the hallway, shutting the door behind me. The click of the door echoed down the empty hallway, reminding me of where I was. No longer in the quiet, private infirmary, I raised my head high and began to walk with an air of authority, mentally creating a list of tasks that I needed to complete that day in no particular order. Turning a few corners as I remained deep in thought, I considered which task to tackle first, but no matter how many options I considered, I always came back to the first task that I thought of.

Make sure that the others are doing their jobs correctly.

—

Arguably, Ren-san hadn't done a bad job, but that was only because he hadn't done his job at all. I wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. One the one hand, he hadn't destroyed anything or angered anybody important while I was gone, but on the other hand, he hadn't worked to improve our situation at all, either, and that might be considered harmful in and of itself.

Leon-kun looked frazzled and generally fed up with Ren-san, and I had no doubt that he'd been running after the redhead nonstop. Chris-kun, thankfully, was his usual happy self, curled up in a ball in his chair in the meeting room with the documents that needed to be read and sign on his knees, smiling down at them as his dark purple eyes scanned the pages, his mind absorbing the information like a sponge.

Despite the large wooden doors creaking as I entered the room, nobody looked up. Ren-san was slouched over the large wooden table, his chest rising and falling softly, seemingly asleep. Leon-kun, as frazzled as he was, was repeatedly running his hand through his unusually unkempt blond hair, muttering to himself. As I approached, I noticed his pale skin and the dark circles under his eyes. It was as though he hadn't slept.

I reached for my chair, which sat next to Leon-kun's, and pulled it back from the table, wincing as its wooden legs scraped across the tiled floor with an uncomfortably loud sound. It was only then that Leon-kun dared to look away from his paperwork, which I quickly noticed included Ren-san's pile, as well as some of my own.

"Oh..." Leon-kun muttered tiredly as I walked around my chair and approached him. "You're out of the infirmary..."

I rifled through the papers on his desk, retrieving my own along with Ren-san's and a large portion of Leon-kun's assigned tasks. He didn't seem to notice. I slid the papers across the surface of the table, which had been polished like a mirror, placing them in front of my own seat before leaning down to look Leon-kun in the eye. I frowned as I noticed the frequency with which his eyelids threatened to snap shut and felt a pang of guilt that I'd let him get this exhausted due to my own recklessness in battle.

I removed my tattered coat and lifted the red cushion from my chair, placing the cushion on the table and draping the coat over Leon-kun. "You should sleep for a little while. Get to bed when you're feeling better," I told him bluntly, hoping that my tone would leave no room for argument. Thankfully, Leon-kun was too tired to care, and he slowly lay down on the cushion, drawing my coat up around himself like a blanket.

I let out a sigh of relief before looking through the papers that lay haphazardly on my area of the table. Retrieving Ren-san's papers, I marched around the table with as much authority as I could muster, wincing as my erect back tugged on my healing wound, and delivered a swift kick to Ren-san's leg. The redhead jumped with a yelp, and it didn't take long for me to see his flushed face and stuffy red nose. Evidently, he'd come down with something, but that didn't stop me from throwing the documents down on the desk in front of him.

"Leon-kun is exhausted," I hissed at him, careful not to waken my sleeping comrade, before ordering, "Do your work."

Ren-san groaned with annoyance. "Sorry... I'm sick..." he muttered quietly, sniffling slightly.

"That doesn't mean that you can just leave your work to everyone else. How many times have the rest of us gotten sick and worked through it, anyway? Without us doing this, at the very least, this whole place stops functioning. We don't have time for this," I snapped angrily, turning on my heels.

I ignored Ren-san's whining and took my seat around the other side of the desk, keeping an eye on Ren-san as he picked up a pen and began to tap it against the paper as he slowly scanned its contents with a tired frown. Finally convinced that he was working, I looked down at my own documents for the first time and flicked through them, getting a general idea of the army's problems.

There was a request from the Healers to allow them to look for medicinal herbs to replenish some of the medicine supply, a request from the cooks to search for more food, a request from the blacksmiths to look for material for armour and weapons... It seemed to go on and on. With a sigh, I turned back to the first page and began to read it carefully, barely able to stop my mind from drifting to the topic of our new arrival.

(Kai's P.O.V.)

I felt as though I'd done nothing since coming to Cray. Nothing positive, anyway. Ever since I'd visited Aichi in the infirmary and Aichi's violent reaction to my sudden appearance, I had thought it best not to return to see him. I would see him when he wanted me, surely. Ren had been to visit a few times, but he had been visiting less and less. In fact, it had been Nehalem who had visited the most, sans a dragon, of course.

Nehalem had been kind, and he seemed to be excited to see me. As I was unsure about the layout of the building, and was unwilling to leave my room alone as a result, he had walked around with me, introducing me to several different units and showing me a variety of important places. For example, he'd taken me to the training hall, where I had seen Blaster Blade and Blaster Dark in the midst of their intense training.

One of the more interesting excursions occurred when he took me to the stables where a wide variety of mounts were housed, including several of his own dragon partners. Surprisingly, he seemed to be able to tell them apart despite the fact that they all looked the same. Despite the fact that they were incapable of speech, he conversed with them easily, recognising their noises and movements easily, and translating them into Japanese for me.

After noticing a distinct lack of Kagerō units, Nehalem had also told me a bit about the war against Void. Supposedly, while many had stood up against Void and the Reverse phenomenon, a handful clans had also chosen to avoid the war altogether. They'd chosen to protect themselves by distancing themselves. These clans, he explained, were Neo Nectar, who wished to maintain peace among their own clan, Granblue, who believed themselves to be safer beneath the waves, and Kagerō. Dragonic Overlord had simply chosen to stay out of it, and the rest of the clan was given an ultimatum—stay or go.

"Most of us stayed," Nehalem had explained before smiling wistfully. "We'd be welcomed back at any time, though. Dragonic Overlord is like that. He's gruff and stubborn, but he's kind, too. He'd never stop his people from returning."

I had, quite honestly, been surprised. I had imagined Dragonic Overlord to be a bit more...stuck in his ways, I suppose, a little bit like myself. What I was even more surprised about, however, was that Nehalem knew of me to begin with. I had him in my deck at one point, sure, but I didn't have PSY Qualia. That didn't matter, though, Nehalem assured me. All units recalled the people who forged contracts with them through cardfights, and I was no exception.

"You're a powerful cardfighter," he had told me with an air of pride, "and that makes you one of Dragonic Overlord's favourites."

Fighting back a blush, I had barely managed to force out an embarrassed, "Shut up," and Nehalem had laughed. I felt like our friendship was going somewhere, and in that unfamiliar world where the only people I knew weren't acting like themselves, that was a wonderful thing.

It was for that reason that, the next time we met, I asked him about what Takuto had said.

"I was told to come here to help everybody, but I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing," I admitted as Nehalem, who sat next to me on my bed, nodded in understanding, his pointed dark blue armour squeaking as he did so. He reached up to fiddle with his tattered red scarf in thought before removing his dragon-like helmet and placing it on his knees, revealing short light brown hair. Finally, piercing green eyes fixed on me as he began to fiddle with the large iron dragon figure on top of his helmet.

"Honestly, Kai, I don't know. Takuto is very important, though. He's Cray's observer, and even though he's meant to be neutral, he's helped us more times than we can count. You'd be hard pressed to find someone who wouldn't trust him with their life. If Takuto sent you here, it was for a reason, and an important one, at that," Nehalem explained, although he didn't sound too sure of himself. "That's my opinion on it all, anyway."

I let out a sigh and flopped back onto the bed. "I just wish he'd had the time to tell me what he wanted," I responded, unable to hide my exasperation.

"Well, he's very far away," Nehalem hurriedly reasoned. "To even get through to you on Earth in the first place just shows how powerful he is. We should be thankful that he managed to contact you at all."

"You're right…" I mumbled tiredly, a million thoughts running through my head. "I wish there was some sort of clue, though…"

"Maybe the clue lies in who you are," Nehalem suggested, rubbing his chin in thought. "I mean, if he wants you to do something, it has to be something that only you can do. Otherwise, he'd just have had the Vanguards or one of us units do it."

"That's the  _problem_ , Nehalem," I responded, exasperation bleeding into my voice. "I don't know what I  _can_  do. I can't fight, I'm no leader, and I don't have a special bond with you all like Aichi and Ren do. I'm not even particularly good at talking to people." I stopped talking with a sigh. "I play card games, Nehalem. That's it."

"Even that is useful," Nehalem told me quietly, leaning back to look at me over his shoulder.

"Eh?" I found myself responding stupidly, a blank expression on my face. "How would that help here?"

"Regardless of whether you have PSY Qualia or not, units still know you, Kai. They trust you. You've led them to victory so many times before against forces that we'd never have been able to oppose on our own. You're talented. You know us well. You know we Kagerō units better than any of the Vanguards, I'd bet," Nehalem responded with a confident grin.

"Yeah.  _Kagerō_  units. The ones that aren't even here," I muttered dejectedly. "What use am I when the only connections I have here are nowhere to be seen?"

"Maybe…Dragonic Overlord will come around…in time…" Nehalem mumbled with an uneasy smile.

"You don't sound so sure of that," I stated matter-of-factly.

"Well…nobody can be sure with Dragonic Overlord, to be honest. He's either set in his ways, or he's changing his mind too darn much," Nehalem grumbled, sounding dissatisfied. "It's hard to predict what he'll do."

"That sounds helpful…" I said with a groan, feeling a slight headache coming on from all of the thinking and moping that I'd been doing. Nehalem sat in silence for a few seconds, averting his gaze from me, before finally opening his mouth to speak again.

"But…it's a chance…" Nehalem said, sounding somewhat hopeful. "I mean, he can't hold Kagerō back from the fight forever. Not when it starts to encroach on our territory. His hand will be forced sooner or later, and when he makes that decision, we just have to hope that he comes to our side instead of fighting alone out of pride."

"That…doesn't really say anything about what _I_  can do, though…" I responded quietly, unable to stop myself from heaving a sigh.

"Well…" Nehalem began, tapping a finger against his helmet. "I suppose that means that we'll just have to wait and see, then…and by that, I mean that we find something to do in the meantime."

"The meantime?" I asked apprehensively. "What can I do in the meantime?"

Nehalem was silent again, all but for the tapping of his finger against his helmet as he appeared to enter something of a trance, deaf to everything but his own thoughts. I watched as a frown made its way onto his face, deepening with each passing moment as he thought hard about all the options that were available to them.

"Well…why not ask the Lead Vanguard to train you in battle as a start? You're close. Ye could use a break from the paperwork," Nehalem suggested, a satisfied grin replacing his frown.

I blanched. "Me? Fight?!  _Ask Aichi to help?!_  Heck, no. You heard about his reaction when he saw me. He wants me nowhere near a battlefield. Heck, he even wants me to leave Cray entirely!" I protested, watching as Nehalem's grin grew wider.

"So?" Nehalem responded slowly. "Fix it, then. Your friendship, I mean. Overlord knows the Lead Vanguard needs a friendly face around here after everything that's happened."

"Can't  _you_  just teach me?!" I blurted out without truly realising that I'd just declared myself willing to take part in this nonsense.

"Nope. I'm haven't been allowed near the training hall since the fire," Nehalem stated matter-of-factly, and suddenly, I found myself thinking that I probably didn't want to know about this fire. "Train with the others, then. Show him that you've got initiative, and maybe even skill. You're friends with Vanguard Ren, right?"

"No offense, but I don't trust Ren with sharp, pointy objects. He's ruined too many of my chef's knives, and accidentally stabbed himself more than I'd consider normal," I admitted, somewhat hoping that this revelation wouldn't ruin Nehalem's perceptions of his Vanguard. The way that his eyebrows shot into his hairline in shock told me that he didn't know any of this, and that I should have perhaps kept my mouth shut regarding the matter. I forged on, hoping to wipe that thought from his memory. "Anyway, he doesn't want me here, either. I pretty sure of that. I'm not good at picking up on the emotions of other people, but he's been getting angry around me ever since I came here."

"Oh, Kai, he's not angry at you," Nehalem responded with a light-hearted chuckle. This time, it was my turn to raise my eyebrows.

"How do you know? It seems pretty clear to me," I asked, my expression of shock shifting to a frown of confusion.

"He's not angry at you, Kai. He's happy to see a familiar face who hasn't been changed by all of this. No, he's mad at Takuto," Nehalem told me as though he was stating the obvious.

"Takuto?" I responded incredulously. "I thought he was really important. Can Ren risk putting him in his bad books?"

"Probably not, but you can't help how you feel. Don't get me wrong, Kai. He's happy to see you. I can tell. It's just that other units have heard him giving off about Takuto bringing you here. He's worried about you being in a dangerous place like this. I dare say that the Lead Vanguard is in the same boat. The fact that he wants you to leave just shows that he doesn't want you to get hurt," Nehalem stated, his voice brimming with confidence.

"I wish I could be that confident…" I muttered with a sigh. "I barely even know what  _I'm_  feeling, never mind them…"

"Listen, Kai," Nehalem said seriously. "You really should ask Vanguard Ren about this. He'd probably be happy to see you taking initiative, and so would the Lead Vanguard. On top of that, if you got some basic training in a field that suits you best, they wouldn't have to worry about you so much."

I frowned at him, my mind going blank as I searched for a reason to get out of this. Eventually, I simply asked, "Do you really think so?" hoping desperately that Nehalem might decide that he was wrong about this idea.

"I really do," Nehalem answered unhelpfully.

"I'm not getting out of this, am I?" I found myself asking, already sounding defeated.

"Well, you can, but I'll never stop badgering you about it," Nehalem responded with a mischievous smirk. "Come on! We'll ask him together!"

I sighed, both annoyed and nervous. "Right…" I murmured, hauling myself upright. "Let's get this over with…"


End file.
